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Lexus Needs To Be More Like A Movie Star, Says Design Chief Tokuo Fukuichi

Lexus unveiled the all-new 2014 IS at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The reveal was set to thrashing music, bizarre video imagery and blinding lights—quite a departure for the straightlaced brand. (Credit: Lexus)

The Japanese luxury automaker is revamping its entire lineup, intent on creating cars that truly stand out. First it was the Lexus ES, followed by the GS, then the LS. Now it’s the IS’s turn.

Tokuo Fukuichi, who, as the chief of design for parent company Toyota Motor Corp., is charged with leading Lexus’ design revolution, says the unifying theme behind all the new cars is an emphasis on character over classic beauty.

“Up until now, Lexus has built good products, but in some cases they haven’t been that distinctive,” the quiet and unassuming Fukuichi tells me in an interview, shortly before the unveiling of the all-new 2014 Lexus IS.

He likens previous Lexus designs to runway models. Few remember the models by name after a fashion show, despite their stunning faces and perfect figures. The newly redesigned cars are meant to be more like movie stars instead.

“If you think about famous actors and actresses, they don’t necessarily have perfect proportions. They might not have a perfect face. But they have character, so we remember them,” Fukuichi says.

Incorporating a “spindle grille” on all of its cars is one way Lexus hopes to become the automotive equivalent of Owen Wilson or Bruce Willis.

The grille has caused a stir since it debuted on the midsize GS sedan in February 2012. Many welcome its bold hourglass shape and say it creates a recognizable face for Lexus cars. Others question Lexus’ decision to make such a big departure in design. One critic even raised the issue at Toyota’s annual shareholder meeting in June.

Fukuichi is taking the controversy in stride.

“The shape is really based on function,” Fukuichi says, pointing to an image of the 2014 Lexus IS on his iPad. He traces his fingers along the lines that emanate from either side of the grille into the hood and up toward the windshield. The fluid shape smooths airflow over the car, which keeps it stable and improves fuel economy.

But as distinctive as the new spindle grille is, Fukuichi is not overly attached to it. “Maybe we should change the shape in the future,” he says.

It isn’t that he doesn’t like the look. It’s just that Fukuichi is not one to get caught up in a particular styling detail for its own sake. He believes design needs to keep evolving. “Regarding changes in design, no one has 100 percent confidence,” he says. “No one can really say with pure certainty that, ‘In two years, this will sell well.’”

It is precisely this kind of willingness to continually reinvent and take risks that prompted Akio Toyoda, president and chief executive of Toyota, to pluck Fukuichi from virtual obscurity two years ago and ask him to overhaul the company’s design process.

It was a sudden change of trajectory for Fukuichi, who had been starting to think about retirement. At that point, the longtime Toyota veteran had already moved on from the parent company to work in its Kanto Auto Works division, which has since been sold off. “When you transfer to a sister company, usually you never come back,” he says.

2014 Lexus IS 350 (Credit: Lexus)

Toyoda reached out because he knew of Fukuichi from a project several decades ago. “I worked with him before, in ’89 or ’90, on the first Toyota Previa model. I designed it,” says Fukuichi, 61. “Maybe he was impressed with what I had done.”

That minivan caused a commotion in its day, with an ovoid shape that wouldn’t have been out of place in a sci-fi film. It was a risk that Toyoda would remember as he took the helm of Toyota in 2009. The ailing automotive giant had been eviscerated by the Great Recession, multiple natural disasters in Asia, and self-inflicted wounds from growing too large too fast. Toyoda’s turnaround strategy hinged on shaking up the company’s ingrained committee-think culture.

“Basically, Akio felt at that point that we were close to death; it wouldn’t be unusual for the company to fail in those conditions,” Fukuichi says. “So in one sense, it was a good time to join,” because the company was ready to let go of the way things had always been done.

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Interesting way to look at it, I wouldn’t have associated either term with the Toyota brand, “movie star” or “runway model,” I would have thought their aspiration was more “boy/girl next door.” Remember their “Every Day” ad campaign? Unfortunately, it was a short jump from that to “everyday,” as in “ordinary.” Still, the first step in solving an image problem is acknowledging you have one.